by Kathy Writer

Created on: November 07, 2008

I am a Starbucks junkie, I admit it!

Now that they have started their "Goldcard" campaign...I'm even more hooked! This is what I have been hoping for and discussing with my other addicted Starbucks friends! A card that gives you discounts and gifts on your birthday. You buy things and get credit for giving gifts to others! What more could you ask for? You do have to pay $25 for 365 days of membership. This also includes free wireless Internet access up to 2 hours a day as long as you use your card 2 times in a 30 day period the service is free! I hated that they used to charge for Internet!

How can you not be addicted to this stuff? There are so many different drinks to choose from. I am there at least 5 times a week if not more. I can even load my new "Goldcard" with any amount I want to in order to save time on my drive through in the morning. I just place the order at the drive-thru speaker, go to the pickup window, pay with my "Goldcard" get my receipt and I'm done! Takes less than 3 minutes if there is no one in line ahead of you or they don't have new hires working the window. But for the most part it is a good coffee shop. Who would have thought that we would ever be paying upwards of $5 for a cup of coffee (in most cases it's mostly steamed milk!) I prefer non-fat lattes but do really like the pumpkin spice lattes too.

I'm not sure what the future holds for our economy but I hope they survive. So many of the things we've grown to know and appreciate are going under. We need to make an effort to support our local area business no matter what the business is. If you enjoy it, support it. Things are strange in this economy. We have new businesses being built in our neighborhood while houses are being foreclosed upon. We have businesses closing without notice and jobs being outsourced on a daily basis it seems. This is not the America most of us grew up in. Now our children are getting lazy. They have no direction for the future and our government is letting foreign companies to infiltrate what professional workforce we have left. I've seen it, I've been laid off twice in the past 16 months! It really is getting worse, not better. So support your area the best way you can with whatever support you have available to you. We all need to work together to improve what we can.

So drink coffee, support your local Starbucks! I'm doing my part!

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